Bariloche, Argentina-The Switzerland of the South

Bariloche, the ski area in Southern Argentina, started out with a cheese fondue by a roaring fire to a walk around knitted trees and a downtown filled with the
famous chocolate shops, ski shops and craft shops.

Even though it rained and was extremely cold, they outfitted us with heavy raincoats and we took the cable car to the top of Cerro Campanario.  Even with the rain and mist, it was a beautiful view of the lakes.  Just imagine on a clear day.

On to Hotel Llao Llao, the most impressive hotel in the region with an amazing view of the lakes and a fantastic lunch.  Ate one of the best sandwiches in our trip.

Hotel Las Acacias in the Puerto Manzana section of Villa la Angostura, a small family run hotel, was fun to find as it was off various dirt roads.  Just wish they served dinner because the town had one restaurant opened when we arrived and their antipasto consisted of hotdogs, meatballs, cheese, tomatoes, bread and french fries, quite different from what we expected.

   What is Mate and why is everyone drinking it?  We took a boat ride to the Parque Nacional Los Arrayanes and everyone was drinking mate.  It was cool but sunny.  Our first sunny day in Bariloche which was nice as it made the boat trip through Lake Nahuel Huapi very pleasurable.

Lunch at Loncomilla of cabaza soup and onion soup and empanadas was delicious.  They were grilling meat outside and the biggest dogs that I ever seen were milling around enjoying the aromas.